Shaquille O’Neal to launch music festival in North Texas

DALLAS — Shaquille O’Neal will show North Texas his DJ Diesel persona on Sept. 16.

O’Neal, the 7-foot-1 NBA legend and sometimes Carrollton resident, is debuting an electronic music festival, Shaq’s Bass All-Stars Festival, in Fort Worth.

The event will feature 14 entertainers across two stages at Panther Island Pavilion. O’Neal curated the lineup, which includes Alison Wonderland, Kai Wachi, Sullivan King, Crankdat, Jantsen, Layz, Emorfik, Hairitage, Leotrix, Charlitz Web, Soltan and Ruvlo b2b Celo.

“I DJ tons of concerts, clubs, and festivals, but taking ownership of my own bass festival is something I am so passionate about,” O’Neal told Billboard. “I just bought a house in Texas, the music scene there is awesome and was the perfect place to launch it.”

Last year, O’Neal bought a 5,269-square-foot home, which was listed for $1,224,900, in a gated community in Carrollton. He has been spotted around Dallas-Fort Worth, sometimes interacting with fans.

Tickets start at $49 and will go on sale to the public at noon Friday. A presale starts at 10 a.m. O’Neal said he wants to keep tickets affordable to make the event inclusive.

“I don’t DJ for the money,” O’Neal said. “I DJ to replace the Game 7 energy that I can’t seem to replicate anywhere else besides at music festivals. “For me, Shaq’s Bass All-Stars festival is about inviting the whole state of Texas out for a good time, and it’s important to me for this to be a community-driven event that all sorts of people can afford.”

The festival, produced by Medium Rare and the Texas-based Disco Donnie Presents, will include a food truck village, games, “activations” and more.

“I am building this festival for all my headbangers out there,” O’Neal said. “I’m bringing together my favorite acts and am excited for this to be a home for bass music fans throughout Texas that we can create a community around.”

Fort Worth is a growing destination for national acts. Last week, Dickies Arena was ranked No. 2 in Billboard’s “Mid-Year 2023 Top 10 Worldwide Boxscore Chart” for venues with a seating capacity of 10,001 to 15,000.

O’Neal told Billboard his event is likely to take place in other cities, too.

“We are excited to bring the concept on the road,” he said.

The festival will run from 4 p.m. to midnight. In April, the Ubbi Dubbi festival at Panther Island bothered Fort Worth residents as far as 10 miles from the venue, who said the noise carried late into the night.

Dozens of Fort Worth residents reported feeling the rumble of bass sounds from electronic dance music in their homes and filed complaints with the Tarrant Regional Water District, which operates Panther Island. The complaints prompted the district to set new hours for concerts at Panther Island. Events will be allowed from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 7 a.m. to midnight on Thursday through Saturday. O’Neal’s event will be on a Saturday.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, O’Neal is a graduate of Cole High School in San Antonio. He played for six teams during his 19-year NBA career and won four NBA championships before retiring in 2011.

He continues to have an affinity for Texas.

In just the past year, O’Neal has emerged as a frontman for the Big Chicken restaurant chain, which plans to open locations in North Texas. He’s been spotted at a Babe’s Chicken Dinner House in Carrollton. Carrollton police officers have posed for selfies with him. He’s given away a washing machine to a young family at a Best Buy in Dallas. He’s appeared at a basketball camp in Roanoke. He’s FaceTimed with a blind fan from a Chicken N Pickle in Grand Prairie.

Being a TCU football fan caused him to lose a bet on “NBA on TNT.” O’Neal vowed to eat a horned frog if TCU lost to Georgia in the College Football Playoff national championship game. TCU lost 65-7.

O’Neal performed as DJ Diesel for the first time at TomorrowWorld 2015 in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia. The festival was a spinoff of the Belgian festival Tomorrowland.

In 2018, O’Neal staged his inaugural Fun House festival series around major entertainment and sports events. In February, he fronted the Super Bowl Fun House with guests that included T-Pain, Jamie Foxx, Patrick Mahomes, Adrian Peterson and more.

Shaq’s Bass All-Stars have played at touring events across the U.S. since the banner’s inception. This will be the organization’s first large-scale event.

“I’ve got a big platform, and I love to support up-and-coming acts as well,” O’Neal told Billboard. “Some of these little guys on the lineup are just as good as the headliners, and that’s what Shaq’s Bass All-Stars is all about. … It doesn’t matter who is performing if we are all together having a great time and headbanging.”